U.S. Freelancers Taking Back Outsourcing Marketshare
The freelance marketplace oDesk posted an interesting article on their blog -- Freelance Job Growth Accelerates in the U.S. -- that highlights some stats on freelance/outsourced work going to U.S. versus offshore providers.
More jobs are being awarded to American freelancers, even though their rates are about $6 higher per hour versus freelancers from other countries.
1. The higher hourly rate reflects higher cost of living in the U.S. and the greater experience and work quality that you get from hiring American. It cost more to have to do a job twice, so experienced employers skip the offshore contracts and go directly to hiring U.S. freelancers.
It seems that customer satisfaction on work done by U.S. freelancers is playing a key role in this promising new trend for talented U.S. professionals. It goes to show that outsourcing is not just about finding the lowest price, and that’s why U.S. professionals are able to command higher rates.
2. The increase is not across the board. Higher skilled work like programming and writing are shifting back to U.S. workers, while more menial work like data entry is going to cheaper offshore providers. (See this chart of hourly rates for U.S. professionals broken down by specialty.)
3. With the U.S. economy in the dumps and having over 2.6 million jobs slashed in 2008, there are more highly qualified American workers bidding for freelance contracts.
One possible explanation is that there are more U.S. providers today, providing buyers a wider variety of U.S.-based skills and experience, than ever before. In December alone, over 20,000 new U.S. providers signed up on oDesk, the largest monthly percentage increase (over 40%) that we have seen since 2005.
Original post on : http://onlinebusiness.about.com
By Gregory G
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